Crystal methamphetamine has been constructed by Australian media as the most dangerous illicit drug of the twenty-first century. Such representations, so readily available in print media commentary, have transformed the image of the drug from relative obscurity to a drug worse than heroin and a modern-day folk devil. Media calls for swift and urgent political action to address the methamphetamine problem have urged policymakers to respond to this ‘national drug threat’. This thesis explores the media construction of crystal methamphetamine, its users, manufacturers, importers and those who policed them over the period 2000-2009. It examines whether, and if so, to what extent, media have contributed to the development of illicit drug policies and legislation during this period. The state of NSW was selected as a case study for this analysis. A total of 433 print media articles and six methamphetamine-related policies and laws were subject to a discourse analysis. It is argued that media created a ‘new ice risk’ that encouraged punitive policy making. The research reveals that the media response to the drug during this period drew on law enforcement, public health and government discourses. Embedded within this media response were competing and contradictory discourses of the ‘methamphetamine user’, ‘the enforcers’ and ‘the folk devil drug’ and their respective discourse strands. These discourses and strands, fuelled by dramatic metaphors, research evidence and expert commentary, contributed to a media narrative that presented the public and policymakers with an image of a risky and dangerous drug. Through the convergence of these discourses, a ‘new ice risk’ was created that became part of the larger risk environment. This ‘risk’ fed off a ‘culture of control’ that had developed in government responses to problematic social issues. Media and policymakers thus worked together to produce a punitive response to a drug purported to be a major threat to society
